A McEwan

My Vixen GP which I've had for.... longer than I'm actually sure of, but it's survived many other mounts over the years! works perfectly and I use it on my Berlebach UNI-18 whenever I want tracking or an EQ experience. I would love to try an SP too but have never had the chance.

<Polaris-envy...>    🥴

Orion is calling....

Thanks for all the help and advice. I have ordered a ZWO ASI178MC to get me started. Looking forward to getting started with it.

Ant   

A Takahashi TKA-21110 FS-60 to 2" adapter, so I can attach my DSLR.  (which is not something I do very often at all!)

10 hours ago, Elp said:

Colour then. If you get mono you WILL want all the filters and everything else. Mono takes more planning also.

I got the 224 as my first and it performs well, my profile pic was taken with that.

That's what I was thinking. Thanks! (Great Jupiter image by the way)

Ok, so I'm thinking I could probably increase my budget a little bit to get the ASI178. With the FS 60Q at f10 it would match the pixel size correctly, and if I could get the FC100 to ~f10 from f7.4 it would suit that too.

I see there are colour and mono versions. Mono is more sensitive, but colour means I wouldn't have to use colour filters if I turned it to planetary imaging as well. I don't want to spend lots on this - filters and wheels would be a step too far at this point. 

So as a first lunar/planetary cam, would you recommend mono or colour ASI178?

Ant

I started big and have worked my way down! FS-60Q arrived the other day. 

I have an Extender-q 1.6x so I can get the FC100 to operate at f11.8. I believe I can also use it on the FS-60Q to achieve f16, but have not tried it yet. I will try and absorb the above information.

Ant

10 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

If you are interested mostly in lunar then having mono sensor makes sense as you can use NB filters with it to get sharper results.

What F/ratio are your Taks? As far as I can see that smaller one is F/10 and larger is F/7.4?

It would be good to get them both to same or close F/ratio and then match that F/ratio to pixel size.

Scopes around F/8-F/10 should aim for 2.4µm pixel size. Sensor size plays a part in lunar imaging as it takes less panels to do full disk image.

I think I'd go with this:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/zwo-cameras/zwo-asi178mm-usb-3-mono-camera.html

It is a bit over budget.

If you absolutely must stay on budget, then this one:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/zwo-cameras/zwo-asi224mc-usb-3-colour-camera.html

Thanks also. The 178 has a lot more megapixels - an advantage in information acquisition, I assume?

I think now some suggestions have been made I'll need to watch some reviews and see if I can work out the exact benefits of one over another, etc.   

21 minutes ago, johninderby said:

The ZWO ASI462MC is a good budget lunar / planetary camera and just within your budget.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/zwo-cameras/zwo-asi-462mc-usb-30-colour-camera.html

For purely lunar the ZWO ASI290 MM would be a bit better bit a bit over budget.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/zwo-cameras/zwo-asi290mm-usb-3-mono-camera.html

Recently bought both. The 462 for planetary and the 290 for lunar. Will be using the 125 f7.8 APO and the CC8” using the AZ100 GOTO.

 

Am I right in saying the advantage of the 462 over the 290 is the increased resolution to capture larger areas and reduced noise level? (This is all a bit new to me, but I've seen ZWO cameras mentioned in a lot of places - and I like the red!  )

Just for fun (or mostly for fun), can you suggest what would be a good effective way to get into lunar imaging with a limited budget of £250 tops!

Let's assume it applies to me (🤪) and that I'll be using either of my Taks on a driven GP non-goto mount, and I'm most interested in lunar, either full disc or closeup style images. I have a Macbook Pro with SSD drive and USB 3.0  Let's also assume that I'm not "extremely" techie, but I can follow instructions!  

Although I do already own a DSLR it's really dedicated astro-style cameras/equipment that I'd like to see recommendations for.

Thanks! 🌙   

Have had some views! Last night and tonight I observed the Moon. Found I needed to use a shorter eyepiece holder to achieve focus with my eyepieces, but when I replaced it with a shorter one (saving 15mm of light path) all began to work well!

I've only used it in f10 mode for now, and the Moon has been a blessing and a curse.

Lunsr views are lovely with this scope. I really enjoy lunar viewing with small refractors, so this will fit perfectly for me. Razor sharp, super contrast. No flaring or scatter. Extremely minimal CA off the limb, and even that was only because I was specifically looking for it. The detail within Copernicus tonight was outstanding, and I had the best views with a 5mm Ortho (120x) 
 

The first cluster I looked at was the Pleiades, and it was radiant in the 24mm ES 68-degree eyepiece. The Nebulosity Was Obvious! Really Obvious! I've seen it in a 60mm scope before, but that was under a moonless sky, so I was surprised and pleased at how great the view was.

M42 was next, and again a superb view, but I recently viewed it in 100mm and the difference was noticeable. Trap was split into four easily enough at 48x (12.5mm Ortho) and although I looked long and hard, no hint of E star. Upping the power to 120x didn't show it either but the seeing wasn't "perfect".

I looked for various other DSOs in the region, and this is where the Moon became a curse. M78 was not seeable. No hint of the Flame. So I reverted to clusters and caught M35, M36, M37 and swung over for M1 the Crab Nebula too. It was easy enough to see, which did surprise me, but again the Moon drained the view of contrast.

M81 and M82 were ok, but ....same problem again....

So I really need to get this scope out again after the Moon wanes to see what it's really capable of.

I had two other frustrations too! 1) the centre spreader bar detached from one leg of my tripod as I was setting up! Not a big problem - I'll just fill the wood and redrill; an easy fix.

2) I could NOT get my Skysurfer III to align properly with the OTA. I had similar problems using it with my Tak FC100Df too. They both have More Blue finder attachment feet. I wonder if there's a link.... It feels like there isn't enough movement in the adjustment wheels. I will have to test in daylight again and maybe make a shim or something to make up the necessary adjustment distance.

All in all a night of great fun and great frustration!  The fun was the fault of the Tak. The frustration was the fault of everything else!  😛 

Edit: fixed the finder issue by tsting n daylight and shimming the finder foot base. Perfect now.

25 minutes ago, HollyHound said:

Ha ha, you've already discovered the wonderful and expensive world of Takahashi accessories 🤣

Oh yes.  😕   Hoping for proper first light tonight now...!  🤩

4 minutes ago, HollyHound said:

Not sure whether Takahashi routinely include these either... I have converted my FS-60CB to Q by buying the Extender separately and the seller did include some end caps. However, looking at my FC-76DCU (given that that is designed to be taken apart to pack for travel) that has no end caps either for the two separate parts 🤔

Hopefully an FS-60Q owner can confirm 🤞

It's possible (likely?) that Takahashi sell these exquisitely precision engineered (EXPENSIVE) end caps as optional extras. I expect they're on a "system chart" somewhere....  

A question for fellow FS60Q owners.

THe scope came new, boxed and assembled, with lens cap for the objective and for the eyepiece holder. When I unscrew/remove the Extender portion of the scope - I have no caps to protect the front and rear.  Can I buy them seperately or should they be included in the package?  

🤔

Ant

Thank you for that Neil. That is a beautiful image and I'm very pleased (and inspired) by the fact it was taken with a true old-school achromat that's three years older than I am!     

Ant 

And this arrived today - primarily to have Rukl lunar maps in a handy pocket-sized format at the eyepiece.

 

Well, this arrived yesterday.....  (Takahashi FS60Q)   
 

I suppose I could add my Extender-Q 1.6x too for f16.....  🤔😁

Ant

Further to my earlier pondering, I made a decision and placed the order.

The choice was between the Tak FOA-60Q or the FS60Q.  Thanks to the many people who replied with advice and thoughts on their own 60mm Takahashis, I went the way of versatility and ordered.... 

The Takahashi FS60Q !  I love the fact that it will give me f5.9 and f10 straight out of the box, and with the addition of my 1.6x Extender f16 as well!

Naturally the sky is completely cloudy now, so I've spent some time unboxing it and attaching the More Blue finder base and the Tak ring. At the moment it's sitting on my modified AZ-3 mount, but I also tried it on a cheapo photo tripod and.... it could be made to work with some improvements! 

I'm very impressed with the super light weight! Looking forward to finding a suitable travel case for it and getting some first light viewing soon.

Thanks too to FLO for fast delivery and for having exactly the accessories I wanted for it.   

Please excuse terrible pictures - lighting is awful! 

Makes sense! Thanks.

Hi. I have a quick question about the item pictured: Baader 2" Clicklock 47mm Extension.

So, in the picture it looks like a 2" Clicklock adapter attached to an extension tube, which inserts into a 2" diagonal or visual back, etc.

What I need to know, is how does the Clicklock section attach to the extension tube? And, if detatched, does the Clicklock section then have a T-2 thread to enable it to be attached to other things?

Thanks for any light shed on this,

Ant   

5 minutes ago, JeremyS said:

You can’t leave us hanging like that Ant!
🤣

New Year, New Scope - all will be revealed! BWAA-HA-HA-HAAA!!! 🤣

Thanks for all the info and help, everyone: Second Tak ordered. Rather excited now! 🤩

Ant